Cycling after knee surgery.

Just had surgery on my right knee to sort a large bucket handle tear of the cartilage. I'll be off the bike for a while until it's fully healed. Any of you guys had a knee arthroscopy & if so did you have any problems when you started riding again?

Thanks for any help.

I had an arthroscopy on my right knee a couple of years back, i find after its healed pretty much as far as it will, i still get clicking and movement in the kneecap (this is to be expected and painful at first) but i was told once i felt up to it, light riding is a perfect exercise and good physiotherapy on the knee as it moves and stretches the knee, but is zero impact so very good to do!

Id give it about two weekd before you consider it, just to be on the safe side with your wounds/dressings and such, then just take it really steady, no drop-offs of wheelies, and you should be fine with it, just remember when its cold and or wet, your knee will ache, so factor that into your rides and maybe take a stash of ibuprofen with you on future rides!

Had a friend with the same op and when he started cycling again he borrowed a mates reccumbent? which takes most of the weight off the knees but still allowed him to cycle..even then it wasn't till after 3 weeks from the op and his trips were built up and he listened to his knee on his road to recoverey

Thanks for the advice chaps. No driving for two weeks, off work for 3 weeks & my consultant will tell me when I can start riding again when I see him on Wednesday. No wheelies or drop offs for me as I'm a dyed in the wool roadie these days.. Was hoping to enter the Lincoln Grand Prix Sportive on the 11th May. I'd probably just do the middle distance of 50 miles or so. Realistic?

do not rush it and let things heal.

starting off on a trainer would be much safer than on the road since you will be going trogh the same motions.

No crunching big gears either! I had a bad overload injury to my knee, spinning in low gears was fine for recovery - along with taking it very easy for the first weeks.

Anybody have any experience of micro-fracture surgery in the knee?

Waited 10 days doing the exercises given and some mile stretching, then started on the turbo gently with minimal resistance building up over another 2 weeks before venturing out. Timing the op for late Nov helped with the rehab... The joy of company provided private medical. Doc "Why wait till Nov?", Me: "Might as well recover and rehab over winter but early enough to be back to full strength for early season".